Introduction
For commercial disputes in Cameroon and the wider OHADA zone, arbitration offers what national courts often cannot: a neutral forum, confidentiality, and — critically — an award enforceable across all 17 member states. The framework rests on two pillars: the OHADA Uniform Act on Arbitration and the arbitration function of the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration (CCJA), seated in Abidjan.
The legal framework
The Uniform Act on Arbitration, first adopted in 1999 and substantially revised by the Additional Act of November 2017, applies wherever the seat of arbitration is in an OHADA member state. The 2017 revision modernised the Act significantly: it reinforced party autonomy, clarified the arbitrability of company and contract disputes, streamlined the interim-measures regime, and introduced clearer rules on the constitution of the tribunal and the conduct of proceedings.
CCJA-administered arbitration
Parties may designate the CCJA as the administering institution, in which case the tribunal is appointed under, and the proceedings follow, the CCJA’s own arbitration rules. The CCJA does not itself decide the case in this capacity — it administers the appointment and review process. The CCJA also holds a distinctive supervisory role: applications for setting aside arbitral awards made in OHADA member states may be brought before it, unifying appellate oversight of the arbitral process across the zone.
Enforcement of awards
Awards rendered in an OHADA member state are enforced through an exequatur procedure that the Uniform Act deliberately simplified — and exequatur granted in one member state circulates across the zone. Cameroon is also a party to the 1958 New York Convention, giving OHADA awards a further route to recognition in the more than 170 contracting states worldwide. Enforcement strategy should nonetheless account for local realities: asset identification and the insolvency-ranking framework materially affect recovery.
Conclusion
With the 2017 reform, OHADA arbitration is now structurally sound and internationally enforceable. For businesses contracting in Cameroon, a well-drafted arbitration clause — with a considered choice of seat, rules and language — is one of the highest-value risk allocations available. ALPs represents clients in OHADA and CCJA arbitrations and drafts dispute-resolution clauses for regional transactions.
